GrepAI Trace Graph

This skill covers using grepai trace graph to build complete call graphs showing all dependencies recursively.

When to Use This Skill

• Mapping complete function dependencies
• Understanding complex code flows
• Impact analysis for major refactoring
• Visualizing application architecture

What is Trace Graph?

grepai trace graph builds a recursive dependency tree:

main
├── initialize
│   ├── loadConfig
│   │   └── parseYAML
│   └── connectDB
│       ├── createPool
│       └── ping
├── startServer
│   ├── registerRoutes
│   │   ├── authMiddleware
│   │   └── loggingMiddleware
│   └── listen
└── gracefulShutdown
    └── closeDB

Basic Usage

grepai trace graph "FunctionName"

Example

grepai trace graph "main"

Output:

🔍 Call Graph for "main"

main
├── initialize
│   ├── loadConfig
│   └── connectDB
├── startServer
│   ├── registerRoutes
│   └── listen
└── gracefulShutdown
    └── closeDB

Nodes: 9
Max depth: 3

Depth Control

Limit recursion depth with --depth:

# Default depth (2 levels)
grepai trace graph "main"

# Deeper analysis (3 levels)
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3

# Shallow (1 level, same as callees)
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 1

# Very deep (5 levels)
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 5

Depth Examples

--depth 1 (same as callees):

main
├── initialize
├── startServer
└── gracefulShutdown

--depth 2 (default):

main
├── initialize
│   ├── loadConfig
│   └── connectDB
├── startServer
│   ├── registerRoutes
│   └── listen
└── gracefulShutdown
    └── closeDB

--depth 3:

main
├── initialize
│   ├── loadConfig
│   │   └── parseYAML
│   └── connectDB
│       ├── createPool
│       └── ping
├── startServer
│   ├── registerRoutes
│   │   ├── authMiddleware
│   │   └── loggingMiddleware
│   └── listen
└── gracefulShutdown
    └── closeDB

JSON Output

grepai trace graph "main" --depth 2 --json

Output:

{
  "query": "main",
  "mode": "graph",
  "depth": 2,
  "root": {
    "name": "main",
    "file": "cmd/main.go",
    "line": 10,
    "children": [
      {
        "name": "initialize",
        "file": "cmd/main.go",
        "line": 15,
        "children": [
          {
            "name": "loadConfig",
            "file": "config/config.go",
            "line": 20,
            "children": []
          },
          {
            "name": "connectDB",
            "file": "db/db.go",
            "line": 30,
            "children": []
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "startServer",
        "file": "server/server.go",
        "line": 25,
        "children": [
          {
            "name": "registerRoutes",
            "file": "server/routes.go",
            "line": 10,
            "children": []
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "stats": {
    "nodes": 6,
    "max_depth": 2
  }
}

Compact JSON

grepai trace graph "main" --depth 2 --json --compact

Output:

{
  "q": "main",
  "d": 2,
  "r": {
    "n": "main",
    "c": [
      {"n": "initialize", "c": [{"n": "loadConfig"}, {"n": "connectDB"}]},
      {"n": "startServer", "c": [{"n": "registerRoutes"}]}
    ]
  },
  "s": {"nodes": 6, "depth": 2}
}

TOON Output (v0.26.0+)

TOON format offers ~50% fewer tokens than JSON:

grepai trace graph "main" --depth 2 --toon

Note: --json and --toon are mutually exclusive.

Extraction Modes

# Fast mode (regex-based)
grepai trace graph "main" --mode fast

# Precise mode (tree-sitter AST)
grepai trace graph "main" --mode precise

Use Cases

Understanding Application Flow

# Map entire application startup
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 4

Impact Analysis

# What depends on this utility function?
grepai trace graph "validateInput" --depth 3

# Full impact of changing database layer
grepai trace graph "executeQuery" --depth 2

Code Review

# Is this function too complex?
grepai trace graph "processOrder" --depth 5
# Many nodes = high complexity

Documentation

# Generate architecture diagram data
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3 --json > architecture.json

Refactoring Planning

# What would break if we change this?
grepai trace graph "legacyAuth" --depth 3

Handling Cycles

GrepAI detects and marks circular dependencies:

main
├── processA
│   └── processB
│       └── processA [CYCLE]

In JSON:

{
  "name": "processA",
  "cycle": true
}

Large Graphs

For very large codebases, graphs can be overwhelming:

Limit Depth

# Start shallow
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 2

Focus on Specific Areas

# Instead of main, trace specific subsystem
grepai trace graph "authMiddleware" --depth 3

Filter in Post-Processing

# Get JSON and filter
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3 --json | jq '...'

Visualizing Graphs

Export to DOT Format (Graphviz)

# Convert JSON to DOT
grepai trace graph "main" --depth 3 --json | python3 << 'EOF'
import json
import sys

data = json.load(sys.s